


The One to Watch: A profile on Ketterdam's fashion savant Jesper Fahey

by zemenipearls (ayaanle)



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Canon Compliant, Exploring Culture and Identity, Fashion & Couture, Fashion Designer, Interviews, M/M, Magazine Article, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25511947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayaanle/pseuds/zemenipearls
Summary: Anyone with their eye on fashion in the bustling city of Ketterdam knows that Kerch-Zemeni fusion has been taking young people by a storm. The mastermind behind it? None other than Jesper Fahey, the enterprising son of Novyi Zem. I am lucky enough to interview him for No Mourners No Funerals magazine and learn more about him, and his process.
Relationships: Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	The One to Watch: A profile on Ketterdam's fashion savant Jesper Fahey

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Six of Crows zine, No Mourners No Funerals put together by kayadoodles on IG!

_ Located between the East Stave and Financial district lies three blocks distinct from any other in Ketterdam. It bears the same cobblestone streets and storefronts, but instead of subdued shades, it is bursting with color and the smell of spices. Kerch isn't on the signs, but Zemeni.  _

_ Curried sauces and seasoned meats, jurda shops, and barber salons are on the street level while families pin their clotheslines on the stories above. Neighbors have watchful eyes and are quick to shout down pickpockets who venture in.  _

_ I make my way to a shop, decked out in blocky Zemeni patterns, bright green and yellow. Izingubo Nezinye Izinsimbi is painted on the awning: Clothing and Accessories. I'm greeted by the store owner, Jesper Fahey. He is a tall, striking Zemeni man with curly-coily loc'd hair shorn on the side and long on top, and fashionably dressed. _

_ He looked like the antithesis of a Kerch businessman. Two thin gold hoops in his left ear match the gold rings on his fingers and clips in his hair. His shirt is in a long Zemeni style, fitted down to his mid thigh with an explosion of bright colors that match his shop, and maroon pants. He would look out of place on Geldstraat, but here in the Zemeni district, he looks at home.  _

_ He invites me into the lounge, where he encourages clients to relax after closing hours. Jesper tells me that the people who frequent range from day workers to ambassadors.  _

**No Mourners No Funerals:** So, tell us a little about yourself before we begin **.**

**Jesper Fahey:** Well you know my name, presumably. I'm originally from what you call Novyi Zem. My Da is from the Wandering Isle and my mum was Zemeni, and we have a jurda farm. After an apprenticeship in Cofton I came to Ketterdam at 15 for University and dropped out. After some poor choices I made a handful of good ones, and now I'm here.

**NMNF:** University at 15? That's quite impressive. The tsar of Ravka attended around that time too.

**JF:** I suppose so, I'm a pretty impressive person. Didn't see him in class though. ( _ He smiles cheekily _ ).

**NMNF:** What inspired you to start this shop?

**JF:** Have you seen the shops around here? Dreadful. I have an acquaintance who never wears anything other than black, white, and gray. 

**NMNF:** We do dress plainly. 

**JF:** And there's timelessness in a good suit, but I was homesick. The closest I could get was wearing bright colors. They all complained about it - my friends - but I couldn't find the clothes I wanted. Always whining "those colors hurt my eyes" or "you look garish". Everything I wore was an attempt to recreate home. But I couldn't figure out the right words. And my friends were kind of dicks. ( _ He fidgets with his hands and furrows his brow, before giving a small shake and then smiling brightly _ ).

I came into some extra money and this seemed like a great way to get what I wanted, and help others as well.

**NMNF:** How did you come into money?

**JF:** You know. Rearranged and redistributed a few things.

**NMNF:** How does your business work?

**JF:** I travel home quarterly and meet with vendors. I check their materials and working conditions. It's mostly Zemeni women who have been doing it for generations. This is real authentic fabric, packed on a Zemeni company I hire, and then brought here where me and my associates turn it into the clothing you see.

**NMNF:** There's quite a variety.

**JF:** It doesn't matter if a Zemeni is a diplomat or a dockworker, they should be able to have a piece of home. 

_ At this point a Zemeni woman comes out. Her hair is in long braids and she wears a plain dress that has a simple Kerch silhouette - A line skirt to the calves and work shoes, a high neck and fitted long sleeves. But instead of a plain apron it is beautifully done in blue and yellow geometric patterns, and her braids are tied back and twined with gold string.  _

**JF:** One of the accessories I've made. Not only does it look great but its practical. Stain and water resistant, with large pockets for workers on the go.

_ Another Zemeni, with a tightly coiled afro kept short. Their facial hair is trimmed short and their face adorned with South eastern Zemeni facial paint. Where the first outfit was all practical, this was meant to impress. _

_ At first they have a blanket-like cloak pinned around the shoulder. It is long and hooded. Much larger than a typical hood - I can only assume to accommodate larger hair. The predominantly orange design also has purple on it. _

**JF:** Orange is for jurda and purple is the color of wealth - for Zemenis those colors signify prosperity. Accessorizing with cowrie shells and gold is also a status symbol but primarily in the West of Novyi Zem. 

_ When they remove the cloak, the outfit is just as magnificent. It is almost a mockery of hunting dress. A fashionable coat that blends East and West aesthetics. It is a reverse of the coat - a deep purple with orange designs. It is too short to be a dress by Kerch and Eastern standards but it is too long for a shirt, with fitted trousers. It is impressive. Jesper invites me to feel the fabric, which is both durable and soft.He explains that it is kept crisp thanks to a grisha textile technique.  _

**NMNF:** How do you come up with these designs?

**JF:** I didn’t! ( _ He laughs _ ) The whole idea is I’m using what Zemenis have been doing for generations and making it accessible to expats who live in Ketterdam. Because of the settler mentality of Kerch, workers have been displaced from their farms in Novyi Zem, and the community here grows as the locals need experts to process jurda. So the Zemeni community is relatively new and bustling. If you like, you can attend one of our gatherings tonight. 

_ I decide it's a good idea. It's hard to separate fact from fiction in Ketterdam, and Jesper Fahey has been at the center of many intriguing events. _

_ In many places of Ketterdam, especially the infamous Barrel, nighttime belongs to the gangs. Whether it's the Dime Lions or the Dregs, you only see unsavory people.  _

_ But in the Zemeni quarter, music begins to filter out of stores. The wares are tucked inside, and people of all ages come out. Neighbors chat, there's dancing, and different dialects of Zemeni are tossed through the air. There are a group of young Zemeni women sitting on the stoop of Fahey's shop, a jurda cigarette hanging loosely between one's lips. _

_ I feel their eyes on me as I walk in - there is some suspicion. I hear one whisper "Staadwatch."  _

_ In the shop, more chairs have been added and Zemenis of all genders mingle with each other. Drinks are being provided. It seems like the type of social gathering reserved for the upper class of Kerch. But here there are no class divides. Just people. _

_ Jesper waves me over and gestures to the scene before us.  _

**JF:** There hasn't been an open gathering space for Zemenis in all my time here. I think if I felt that community when I moved to Ketterdam, I wouldn't have sought the friends I did.

_ I ask him to elaborate. He shakes his head. _

**JF:** But there are good things that have come out of Ketterdam as well. ( _ He smiles down at his left ring finger where a simple gold band sits _ ). And now I have that space to grow.

**NMNF:** Why is having a space important?

**JF:** Culturally, a lot of misunderstandings happen when you can't speak your language and express yourself. When the Zemeni ambassador was killed a few years ago, people were grieving and didn't have a space to share it. Especially when there was so much secrecy from the Staadwatch, the Merchant Council, and the Council of Tides. To this day the Kerch government will not confess what happened. But then there was the plague scare and everyone forgot.

_ A Kerch man stops in. He is slender with strawberry blonde hair and a simple suit on. Fahey immediately smiles and beckons me over.  _

**JF:** This is my fiancé Wylan Hendriks. And my number one supporter. 

**Wylan Hendriks:** It's easy to be. He's really good at coming up with ideas, and he's right. The Zemeni quarter could use revitalization. And it should come from a Zemeni person. Turns out he has a knack for figuring out what people want. 

**JF (to WH):** Of course you would think so. 

_ They whisper to each other. Hendriks extends on his tip toes, using his hand to shield me from whatever they discuss. Then they share a sweet kiss before Hendriks ducks out. _

**NMNF:** How involved is your fiancé in the business? As a Van Eck he must have considerable sway. 

**JF:** First off, he's a Hendriks. Second, this may come as a surprise but I have my own money, you know. My family owns one of the most lucrative jurda farms in eastern Novyi Zem. By Kerch standards I am a perfectly respectable merchant. 

**NMNF:** What about the rumors of your participation in the Barrel gang, the Dregs?

**JF:** Like I said, Kerch standards. I'm spreading around my investments. Also, the Zemeni quarter has one of the lowest crime rates in the city. I have ways to help ensure that. 

**NMNF:** Are you friends with the infamous Kaz Brekker?

**JF:** I wouldn't call us friends but we have spent a considerable amount of time with each other and he has supported some of my work here. There are no crimes happening here except for your fashion ones - and you can quote me on that.

_ I deserved that. The Zemenis are now looking at me with more suspicion. It is clear they are protective. I expected to profile a shop and its owner but it's quickly becoming clear that this is representative of something brewing in Ketterdam. Not the typical gang wars, robberies. Not even like the auction incident in the past years that Fahey was also rumored to be involved in. _

**NMNF:** Now that you're a successful designer, engaged, and have a thriving shop, what's next for you?

**JF:** I have some plans for cultural exchange clothing. I've made Kerch style clothing in Zemeni patterns, I would like to bring on people from Shu Han, Occupied Suli Territory, and the Wandering Isle to come up with new styles and designs. Bring some life into these streets. 

We're also making a committee to celebrate Zemeni heritage in the summer. A two day festival and inviting the rest of the city to take part. Food, fashion, festivities. Most of the good f words.

You should come visit again when it happens. ( _ He gives me a conspiratorial wink _ ). I'm not done yet.


End file.
